Page 30 of Zachary

Zoe sighs. “I guess we’ll never know. Not unless it all gets unshelved.”

Deep inside me, in that place I’ve been stifling my whole life, an idea sparks. It’s stupid and reckless, and the intelligent side of my brain pushes it away.I don’t do things like that.

Don’t you? The tool raised byhimnever would. But what about the dragon you?

“Or we can look at the plans and see for ourselves.” The words are out of my mouth before I can second-guess them, the spark of an idea taking full shape. “If there really is a problem, then fine. But if there isn’t…” My neck starts to get hot. The three of them are staring at me. Zoe’s jaw is dropped. Cam’s blinking fast.

Garrett, though… Garrett’s grinning.

That grin gives me the courage to continue. “If there isn’t a problem with the plans themselves, then maybe all the resort needs is some champions. And… and we might not be on the village council, but Garrett’s in charge of an intergovernmental project that’s going to make a big impact here, and Zoe is a hugepart of the plan to attract other species here. And Cam opened the vault door—he’s a hero right now. And I… uh, I know a lot of dragons.” That’s true.

“Okay,” Zoe says. “But if nobody wants to talk about the resort, they’re not likely to hand over the plans for us to see.”

“So we steal them.” Did I say that? Oh blessed ether, did I say that? “Where would they be?” It’s like my mouth is working independently from my brain. Is this what it’s like to be a real dragon?

I take in the way my companions’ faces are alight with excitement. Is this what it’s like to be fun?

“In the house. Probably in Zac’s room.” Garrett shrugs. “That’s easy enough—I can look on Monday when everyone else is at work and he takes you to the cave.”

“Monday?” Zoe whines, even as Cam says, “I can’t wait that long.”

“Can you keep it secret from Asher and Micah that long?” I ask. My only experience of people in relationships is what I’ve seen from my dragon friends, and I know for sure that Fabian and Dustin tell their boyfriends everything.

Sure enough, Cam and Garrett exchange a glance. “I mean,” Cam says, sitting up and somehow bumping his elbow on the coffee table, “I maybe could if I stayed here all weekend.”

Garrett shakes his head. “That won’t work. Micah will come over tomorrow to beg you to come home. If you say no, then you’ll start a real fight.”

“I don’t think I could say no anyway,” Cam concedes. “He’s so adorable when he begs.”

Micah? Adorable? Love must really mess with people’s brains.

“So we do it tomorrow,” Zoe suggests. This time it’s Cam who shakes his head.

“It’s Saturday. They’ll all be home, and it’ll be harder for one of us to search Zac’s room.”

“It has to be tonight.” My mind is whirling. “What time is it?” We all turn to look at the clock on the wall. Just before midnight. Perfect. “Who’s at the house now?”

“They were going to hang out tonight,” Garrett says, “but Asher was up super early this morning, so I bet he’s gone to bed already. He gets cranky when he hasn’t had enough sleep.”

“If Asher’s gone to bed, Micah would be at home,” Cam volunteers. “I was snotty before I left, so he’s probably waiting for me to come back.” He frowns. “He better apologize soon so I can forgive him.”

“Okay, but even if Asher sleeps like the dead,Zac’sstill there. I don’t think we can search his room if he’s in it. We need to get him out of the house.”

Damn. We fall silent. How do we get him out of the house at midnight? It’s not like there’s a nightclub around here we can invite him to. We need a distraction.

“Zoe, tell me you’re afraid of heights,” I demand.

They all look at me like I’ve lost my sanity. “What?”

“Tell me you’re afraid of heights.”

“Uh… but I’m no—”

“Zoe!”

“Okay, sure. I’m afraid of heights. Terrified. Throw up at the sight of a stepladder.”

I nod. “Be ready. I’m going home, and I’m going to call Zac and tell him I need his help. When he leaves, you three sneak in and find the plans.”

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